Drought-induced desiccation cracking is a widespread phenomenon that can trigger multiple degradation mechanisms within near-surface soils, significantly affecting the structural stability of earthen infrastructures. This study proposes an innovative nature-based solution that enhances soil resilience against desiccation cracking and drought conditions by using vegetable proteins extracted from agricultural by-products as eco-compatible reinforcing agents. To assess the effectiveness of the protein-amended approach, we conducted systematic laboratory drying experiments using soil specimens amended with wheat gluten (a vegetable protein), at contents ranging from 0 to 6%. Throughout the experiments, we monitored the water evaporation history, desiccation crack formation, and microstructural evolution in soil specimens containing varying amounts of wheat gluten. Experimental findings demonstrate that wheat gluten amendment influences soil evaporation dynamics, enhancing initial evaporation rates while prolonging overall evaporation duration across constant-rate and falling-rate stage. The wheat gluten amendment significantly attenuates crack development, manifesting through reduced surface crack ratio, total length, width parameters, and decreased propagation rates. Lower wheat gluten contents (2% and 4%) effectively suppress desiccation crack formation, while higher content (6%) achieves near-complete crack inhibition, with surface cracking reduction reaching 95%. Furthermore, the amendment alters crack network morphology, transforming intersection patterns from 90 degrees ("T-shaped") to 120 degrees ("Y-shaped") junctions. Microstructural analysis reveals fundamental transformations in soil structure through interactions between soil particles and proteins, with increasing wheat gluten contents promoting progressive particle aggregation, contrasting with the discrete, irregular particle distribution observed in unamended specimens. This investigation elucidates the potential of vegetable proteins as soil amendments for drought mitigation in arid and semi-arid regions while advancing our understanding of nature-based soil stabilization strategies.